UNITED NATIONS (AP) " U.N. weapons inspectors discovered potentially hazardous chemical agents in their office near U.N. headquarters that were probably taken from Iraq's main chemical weapons facility 11 years ago, officials said Thursday.
"There is no immediate risk or danger," U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.
She said there was no evacuation of the office of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission known as UNMOVIC, about a block north of U.N. headquarters on Manhattan's east side, and U.S. authorities were called in to dispose of the material.
Okabe said one of the substances, identified Wednesday, was phosgene suspended in oil, "whose present state is unknown but which could be potentially hazardous."
Phosgene can be used as a chemical weapon " and was used extensively in World War I " as a choking agent. Both phosgene gas and liquid can damage skin, eyes, nose, throat and lungs.
UNMOVIC spokesman Ewen Buchanan said the phosgene was in liquid form, suspended in the oil, in a soda-can-sized container. It was found in a sealed plastic bag that included "unknown liquid substances contained in metal and glass containers ranging in size from small vials to tubes the length of a pen," she said.
"The only information we have of the contents of that bag is from an inventory of a 1996 inspection, which indicates that one of the items may contain phosgene, an old generation chemical warfare agent," Okabe said.
Okabe said the material was immediately secured by UNMOVIC experts and the U.N. sought assistance from U.S. authorities in having the material safely removed.
The U.N. was informed that the FBI was going to the office Thursday to remove and dispose of the material, she said.
"The office area was screened using UNOMVIC's chemical weapons detection equipment. No toxic vapors were found. There is no immediate risk or danger. UNMOVIC staff are still working on the premises," Okabe said.
Buchanan said a second sealed package contained tiny samples of chemical agents in sealed glass tubes shaped like pens that are used by inspectors to identify chemical agents. Each of these reference standards contained less than a gram of chemical material, he said.
Buchanan said the material was discovered Aug. 24, put in double zip-locked bags, and locked in a safe in a room that is double-locked. The only marking on the material was an inventory number, he said.
UNMOVIC has 1,400 linear feet of files and it took until Wednesday to find the inventory the number matched which indicated that the material was from Iraq's main chemical weapons facility at Muthana, near Samarra.
The State Department said it had learned of the discovery late Wednesday and had immediately contacted the FBI to deal with the disposal.
Deputy spokesman Tom Casey also said a joint U.S.-U.N. investigation would be made into why the samples had been stored in the office but stressed that the chemicals had been there for at least a decade and did not pose any health risk.
"One of the things we want to do is make sure that the U.N., working with the FBI, does conduct a full investigation of this, so we're absolutely certain how they in fact got there, how long they were there, and the kind of exact nature of how this came about," he told reporters.
"There is no threat that these items currently or in the past have posed to public health and safety in the area," Casey said.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the chemical agents "were brought over as a result of U.N. weapons inspections during the UNMOVIC era" and had been at the UNMOVIC facility for over a decade.
"They've done some testing of the air, and there's no danger to the folks involved," Snow said.
The agents should have been transported to an appropriately equipped lab for analysis, he said, adding: "I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of red-faced people over at the U.N. trying to figure out how they got there."
U.N. inspectors pulled out of Iraq just before the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion and were barred by the U.S. from returning. The U.S. and Britain said they were taking over responsibility for Iraq's disarmament. In June 2003, the Security Council voted to shut down UNMOVIC and the U.N. nuclear inspection operation in Iraq.
Okabe said the United Nations has launched an investigation to determine how and why the material was in UNMOVIC files.
Brian Mullady, a senior UNMOVIC official, told reporters that the staff did an immediate sweep of the rest of its archives to see if there was any more material but there was none.
Competitive eating juggernaut Joey Chestnut took home top honors " along with $5,000 in prize money " during the Best in the West Nugget World Rib Eating Championship on Wednesday night.
Chestnut, from San Jose, Calif., took the title by eating seven pounds of ribs, besting rival Pat Bertoletti, who upset Chestnut at a contest last week. Bertoletti finished with 6.1 pounds.
Chestnut vaulted to fame after beating Japanese eating legend Takeru Kobayashi in a hot dog eating contest. Chestnut consumed 66 hot dogs.
The 12-minute contest is the kickoff event for the 19th annual Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off, which boasts over 400,000 visitors a year. The cook-off takes place in Victorian Square in Sparks and runs through Monday. Admission is free.
For a complete schedule of events, go to www.nuggetribcookoff.com.
One man was killed and another injured in a late night accident Wednesday in Pleasant Valley.
Brandon Ray Blasey, 24, of Sparks, was taken by helicopter to a Reno hospital where he remains in critical condition today, said Trooper Scott Simon of the Nevada Highway Patrol.
Another passenger, whose name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Simon, a maroon 1996 GMC pick up truck was northbound on Highway 395 about 11:39 p.m. when it left the right roadway edge. The driver overcorrected to the left, struck a road sign and rolled the vehicle back onto the roadway. Blasey was ejected.
It is still unclear which occupant was driving the vehicle.
Troopers, Washoe County Sheriff's Department personnel and NDOT shut the highway for over three hours to diagram and investigate the area of the crash site.
Simon asks that any witnesses to the event, please contact the Nevada Highway Patrol at 688-2500 or 687-0400.
The Feisty Goat Pub, 1881 E. Long St., will have its grand opening this Saturday starting at 2 p.m.
The British-style pub will have entertainment, giveaways and, starting at 4 p.m., appetizers and Indian tacos.
The pub is owned by Rob Rasner and Lucas Whitmore.
The National Weather Service has updated its weather forecast for the Carson City, Minden/Gardnerville and Lyon County areas and calls for isolated showers in the morning, with mostly cloudy skies and isolated showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall in the afternoon.
Highs will be 84-94, with light winds becoming southwest 10-15 mph in the afternoon.
The Carson City Senior Citizens Center is hosting a free dance this afternoon from 12:30-2 p.m., 911 Beverly Drive.
Live music is performed by "Mixed Nuts," under the direction of Mark Lund, noted fiddler. For information, call 883-0703.
For more area activities, visit www.nevadaappeal.com/calendar.